Buying A Home
jesspacatc
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Septic vs Sewer
Which would you prefer? Why?
Re: Septic vs Sewer
I don't really have a preference either way. They both have their plusses and minuses.
If I were buying a home with a septic system I would always ask that the sellers pump the tank before closing, I would want a copy of the original septic design to make sure that it was the correct size for the number of bedrooms, and depending on the age of the system make the contract subject to an inspection of the septic system.
To me septic v. sewer is a function of other things I care about, but not something I specifically care about. I've lived with both.
If I like & want to buy a house out in a rural area, septic's often part of the deal. If I like & want to buy a house in a town or a close-to-town suburban developed area, sewer's probably part of the deal. There are exceptions of course, but in general I'd take whichever comes with the kind of location I want. It's not like you often get the choice of septic v. sewer once you've picked a house, and in terms of picking a house it's so far down on my list of priorities that it isn't really worth considering.
I don't understand how this is even a question. Truly I'm baffled. The answer is sewer. Always, every day, nothing on this earth could make me change my mind: if I have a choice in two equal homes, I'm choosing the one with sewer.
With septic, you have a tank of human fecal matter in your lawn that can back up into your home and lawn, causing unbelievable damage. I've seen it happen; it's real and it's awful. You have to take care of a septic system. You have to pay for maintenance. You have to pay to replace it when it expires. When you buy an older home, you're praying that the last people took care of it, that it's not on its last legs, that the inspector you hired knew what he was talking about.
Sure, sure, there are taxes for sewer, but where I am at least, they're a heckuva lot cheaper than all the crap you have to do for a septic tank. Not to mention the peace of mind you get with a sewer, not worrying if the X years old tank in your yard needs replacing or if that wet spot over there means something's wrong or yadda yadda yadda. ILs have septic, one of our homes has septic - no thank you, never again.
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LOL....I really do hate dealing with crap
Seriously though, I agree 100%. All other things equal, I'd always (always, always) choose sewer.
Realistically, City sewer can back up into a home just as easily as with a septic system, and the City is only sometimes liable if the back up comes from the street, which it typically doesn't. It usually comes from the line from the house to the street.
With both instances septic, or City sewer proper usage of either system is the key to avoiding problems.
There really isn't a choice around here - if you're in a smaller town, you're stuck with septic. It's not really a huge deal as long as you maintain it.
That said, one of the smaller towns around here has recently installed sewers. Each home was assessed 20 years of sewer fees - $1k+ a year on top of already astronomical property taxes - to pay for them. We looked at some houses there and the listings include the number of years left of the assessment. Not really an ideal alternative and certainly more expensive than maintaining the septic system.
You often don't have a choice although, given two similar homes, I will ALWAYS choose sewer over septic. TarHeels pretty much summed it up.
That's the thing though where we are, I really can't imagine a situation where there would be two similar homes, one with septic and one with sewer. Here, it's a trade off depending on what one is looking for in a home.
Sewer = city living and smaller lots
Septic = outskirts of town with larger lots
I do concede however, that the fact that this type of post comes up so often, that the marketabiltiy of a home with a septic may possibly be slightly less in some areas than a home with a public sewer system.
So, if there was ever a chance that for some bizzar reason there were two identical homes on the same size lots in the same location I may possibly pick the sewered home just based on market appeal and potential resale alone.
Oh, that's totally true! But how often in normal conversation do you hear people talking about city sewer backing up? Sure, it happens, and when it does, it's horrific, but it's pretty rare compared to the comparatively frequent occurrence that septic disasters are. I don't know anyone personally who's had a problem with city sewer, but I can name half a dozen or more people who've got bad septic stories.
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The Googlesites Paint Bio
Thinking of doing cosmetic updates to a dated home? These were our costs.
Realistically, City sewer can back up into a home just as easily as with a septic system, and the City is only sometimes liable if the back up comes from the street, which it typically doesn't. It usually comes from the line from the house to the street.
With both instances septic, or City sewer proper usage of either system is the key to avoiding problems.
This is true. I've lived in NYC all my life and I've seen and smelled this happen and it's just awful.Yikes, obviously, the septic experiences you've had are not good at all. And, because of that, I would likely say that these septic systems were not (or could not) have been properly maintained. As, had they been, you should not (or would not) have had such issues.
That being said, I have lived with public sewer for 3 years of my 40 and would choose a private septic system over public sewer ANY day. Again, the key is properly maintaining your system. Knowing when (& how often) to service...every 5-10 years depending on the # of individuals in your household as well as the age of the system. Of the two homes I currently own, one was built in '64 and the other in '06. The system at the nearly 50 year old home is the original system. Not one issue...ever. The system at the home built 6 years ago...again, no issues. As for pumping the systems, we do so every 7-10 years on these two tanks. Years ago, the older home was pumped every 4 (2 adults, 3 children). Pumping, today, consists of 4x4 layer of sod lifted, tank is pumped, sod is replaced. No mess, no worry. Oh, and about $300....not bad compared to a monthly public sewer/water bill!
I should also mention that both system users have flushed tampons, used whatever toilet paper they like and have properly maintained their systems - the most important thing to do!